The Kids Aren't Alright
by Triscribe
Summary: What if certain fathers weren't kept from their children? If certain orphans and runaways fell in with the wrong people, if certain kids were taken from their families as spoils of war...? What if Cheshire was the name, not of an assassin, but of Black Canary's crimefighting partner? (Role Reversals AU - The Team works for the Light)
1. Cheshire

Author's Note: I hope you guys enjoy this one, it's definitely one of the more evil AU ideas to drift into my headspace in a long time. Fair warning, the earlier chapters will start out pretty tame, but the implied child abuse will get a lot heavier as we go on, and some of the stuff done to a couple of our favorite kids will be rather disturbing when we get to them. I'll include warnings where needed, but I just wanted to make this clear upfront: the title of this story is very, _very_ appropriate.

That said, have fun, and thanks for reading!

-Tri

Prologue: Cheshire

 _"_ _Please_ _don't go."_

 _Jade sighed, pausing at the door. "You should get out too. I'd take you with me, but you'd just slow me down."_

 _The blonde eight year old behind her, clutching a hand-me-down teddy bear, gazed back steadily. "Someone has to be here when Mom gets out."_

" _Don't you know anything? In this family, it's every girl for herself." With that, Jade turned to go. She stepped through the bedroom door - and into a prison hospital, where the staff walked dispassionately past their patients, where a dark-haired woman wheezed softly in her bed._

 _Jade didn't want to move closer._

 _She did anyway._

 _Just as her feet stopped beside her mother's bed, the woman opened her eyes. "Jade," she coughed, trying to lift a hand. Even without the handcuffs attached to the bed's railing, she didn't have the strength to raise it far. "Jade, why did you leave? I needed you... Artemis needed you..."_

I had to get out, _the girl wanted to say._ I couldn't stay. Not with Him.

 _Instead, all that came out was, "Every girl for herself."_

 _Her mother seemed to shrink at the words. Her skin shriveled, her muscles deflated - in moments, a mummy rested on the hospital sheets, barely recognizable. Jade shuddered when it crumbled into dust - and screamed when the floor disintegrated beneath her feet. She fell, down and down and down, books and teacups and white rabbits swirling around, grey eyes staring accusingly._

" _Every girl for herself," they taunted, over and over. "Every girl for herself, in this family, every girl for herself!"_

" _I didn't know!" Jade shouted, trying to be heard over the maelstrom. "I didn't know she'd die! I didn't know what Dad would do! I wouldn't have left Artemis there if I'd known-!"_

" _EVERY GIRL FOR HERSELF!"_

"JADE!"

Gasping, the young woman lunged upright, sheets flung aside. It took a moment of panic before she registered the safe surroundings of her studio apartment, sunlight pouring in the windows, and Dinah crouched next to her bed.

"Are you alright?" The woman asked, a hand holding tight to Jade's shoulder. "I could hear you screaming from out in the hall."

"Uh... Nightmare," Jade replied honestly, reaching up to rub at her eyes. "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you."

"It's fine. I'm more concerned with what upset you so badly - your nightmares are usually pretty quiet."

"Yeah, I know. I... I'll explain in a bit. What time is it?"

"A little before noon. I thought I'd come surprise you for lunch." Dinah gestured over her shoulder, and sure enough, when Jade glanced over she saw a pile of cloth grocery bags dropped haphazardly by the door. She smiled wanly, and started to look back towards her mentor, only to pause and do a double take.

"Seriously? You kicked my door in? You have a spare key!"

Somehow, Dinah's sheepish expression still managed to look pretty damn demure. "I was in a hurry."

"Oh my God," Jade groaned, flopping back onto the mattress with her hair flying in all directions. "I don't even live with you any more and you still manage to embarrass me."

"At least I didn't Scream it down."

Jade had to snort at that. "Even so, you're paying to fix the damn thing."

"Fair enough. Now come on, get dressed, I'll start putting things away and then you can tell me what's on your mind."

"Therapist," the younger woman huffed, doing as she was told. In a few moments, she'd yanked a t-shirt on over her tank top, hopped into a pair of khaki shorts and slid her feet into the Tweety Bird slippers that were a gag gift several Christmases before. Shuffling into the kitchen, she helped sort out the last of the groceries, which thankfully included some more of her favorite tea blend, which she'd run out of a couple days earlier.

Leaving Dinah to finish putting the canned vegetables and soups away in her pantry, Jade set a couple mugs of water in the microwave to heat up, then tore open the first box of tea to pull out two single-serve packets.

"So," her mentor finally said, closing the pantry door. "Nightmare?"

Jade sighed. "...You know this week's the three year mark since my mom died."

"I remember."

"And it's also the anniversary of when that bastard disappeared, taking my baby sis with him." There was no need to specify which bastard - they both knew Jade only ever applied that insult to her father. "Well... I called the undertaker of Gotham Cemetery, to ask him to add a gladiolus flower to the usual bouquet... And he told me that a blonde teenager showed up two days ago with a whole bunch of them to go on Mom's gravestone."

Dinah's eyes widened. "Jade..."

"Before you say anything, I'm not jumping to conclusions," the younger woman said. "I don't know if it was Artemis. Even if it was, there's practically no chance this is enough of a lead to help me find her-"

"But it _might_ be," her mentor interrupted. "Jade, if you need to take off to Gotham to chase this down, _do it._ I can handle the city by myself for a while."

"You sure? The League's been calling you in on a lot of missions lately..."

Dinah waved a dismissive hand. "They do that because I keep my availability status open, since you're usually around to cover if need be. But I'll switch to reserve duty for a while, it's fine. And if _you_ need help, please, use the emergency frequency I gave you and call the Hall of Justice."

"Okay," Jade breathed. "Okay. In that case, I'm gonna pack some stuff and leave tonight." She let out a deep exhale, before reaching for Dinah. The other woman met her halfway, holding Jade close for a minute as the kid collected herself.

"If anyone can find her, it's you," she murmured.

"Yeah. I'm going to." Pulling back, Jade turned just enough to gaze at the cabinet standing by the far wall, the one that held her superhero uniform and weaponry. "It's time for the Cheshire Cat to go hunting."


	2. Huntress

" _Time to move, baby girl."_

" _But Dad-"_

" _Shut up, Artemis. Grab your bug-out bag, we're leaving."_

" _When, when are we coming back?"_

" _We aren't."_

Her door was thrown open so hard it slammed against the wall, and Artemis was out of bed in an instant, crossbow pointed across the room and dagger held in a defensive grip.

"Rise and shine, baby girl," her dad said, kicking the door shut behind him without so much as a blink at the weapons. "We've got to be at the airport in two hours for our next job."

After waiting half a beat in case he decided to surprise her with an attack, Artemis shuffled to the other side of the hotel room, still watching the man from the corner of her eye. Once it was clear his focus rested solely on packing up the weaponry stored in the kitchenette, she turned to the dresser, setting down her dagger and crossbow in favor of retrieving clothes.

Well-synchronized after three years of the same routine, the father-daughter pair soon had everything they needed stowed away into two compartment duffels as well as an artwork tube for Artemis and a golf bag for her dad. When they checked out from the hotel, they looked like any other pair of family travelers, heading on to a new destination. At the private airport an hour's drive out from the city, they boarded a lightweight helicopter and flew it to the coast; there, they switched to a bigger, military-grade one, taking it to a ship waiting in international waters.

"Welcome aboard, Sportsmaster," the captain greeted as they disembarked. "And this is...?"

"My daughter, Huntress." Artemis jerked her head in a stiff nod, which the short man returned.

"We've set up temporary quarters for you on the same deck as my own; you'll have several hours to relax before we arrive at our destination."

"No offense, but I don't relax until the job is done," Sportsmaster drawled.

The captain coughed, smiling. "Of course, I apologize. Nevertheless, if you'll please step this way..."

He led them through the ship, to a pair of officer bunkrooms side by side. Artemis entered one, her dad the other. Ten minutes later, both stepped back out, in their respective uniforms.

"Back to the chopper," her dad growled. Wordlessly, Artemis re-traced their earlier path, straight to the landing pad they'd arrived on. "Good job, baby girl. Now, scope out the rest of this ship while I have a word with our captain."

She nodded, slipping around to an entry hatch in the foredeck, and from there back inside the belly of the vessel.

For the next hour, Artemis silently stalked through the shadows, checking every corner, identifying possible routes of escape, never letting any of the crew catch sight of her. After completing one circuit, she went on another, double-checking everything, making a mental list of all the details her dad was sure to ask for.

Finally satisfied, she headed back to their assigned quarters, entering the bunkroom her dad had chosen. He was waiting for her, fine-tuning a set of explosive spears. "Well, baby girl?"

"Crew's complacent," she said. "No patrols, no watchmen. I found six potential spots for attackers to board, three additionals where we could slip off..." After rattling off her report, the teen fell silent, waiting tensely for her dad's response.

He took his time, finishing with the spears before looking up at her. "Good job, Artemis."

She felt a bit of warm pride uncurl in her chest.

"Now, seeing as we've got some more time to kill, let's head back up topside and work on those spinning kicks you keep failing to put enough oomph into."

The warmth vanished.

"Yes sir."

He clapped a hand on her shoulder as he stood. "And who knows, after this Santa Prisca job, we might take a little time off, go someplace cool for the rest of the summer."

 _Yeah right,_ she wanted to snap. _You never take time off. Not in the last three years._

"Whatever you say, Dad."

"That's right, baby girl. Whatever _I_ say."

Of course, the Santa Prisca inspection and pick-up turned out not to be the clean cut assignment they were expecting. Not when Batman showed up right in the middle of things.

Having grown up in Gotham, Artemis knew exactly what the Dark Knight was capable of - so while he took down Kobra goons with ease, she slipped away around the back of the factory, case of modified Venom in hand. Regardless of whether her dad tried to evade the Bat or straight-up challenged him, Sportsmaster would be on his own.

 _In this family, it's every girl for herself._

She tried not to let the old words bounce around her head.

She didn't succeed.

Nonetheless, Artemis hid herself in the woods, waiting as Batman finished up. She kept an eye on the area of woods Lord Kobra disappeared himself into, and stayed put during the fight that ultimately saw her dad knocked out cold, his helicopter blown up with all the shipment crates inside. The black jet Batman flew around in soon landed, summoned by autopilot most likely, and he ensconced himself inside.

Artemis bit her lip, hand drifting to the pouch of explosive crossbow bolts strapped to her left leg.

After toying with the idea of taking out the Bat for a few moments, she shook her head. The decision to stay put turned out to be the right one, as Wonder Woman soon arrived in her invisible jet, followed by the masked Green Lantern. They helped Batman gather all the restrained men together, both Kobra goons and Bane's followers, along with Bane himself, the mutated mammoth freak, and Sportsmaster. The Leaguers conferred amongst themselves for a bit, then the pair of latecomers took off with their prisoners.

Batman stood by his plane for a little while, observing the burning factory and surrounding landscape. Then, he got something out of his belt, placing it on a clear patch of ground before boarding his ship and taking off.

It was a long time before Artemis felt comfortable with slipping out of her hiding spot. She did leave the case there, as a precaution, and then stalked down towards the item Batman had left behind.

She didn't have any fancy scanner gizmos to make sure it wasn't a bomb, but that didn't seem like the Dark Knight's style. Still, she tossed a few pebbles, then lightly kicked it, before gingerly scooping the little box up and giving it a quick shake. Huffing at her paranoia, the girl finally opened it up.

She nearly dropped it again in shock.

There was a photograph on top, a picture of her mother's grave, with the flowers she'd bought still leaning against the headstone, nearly as fresh as when she'd dropped them off the month before. Hands shaking, Artemis picked the glossy paper up and turned it over.

There was a note, addressed to her. _A, I'm giving copies of this to a few of the Leaguers, in case they find any sign of you or the bastard. Put your birthday into the transponder, and I'll come get you. I'm so sorry I didn't do it sooner. I didn't know. -J_

Underneath the photo was a little electronic device - an emergency beacon transponder, with a little number pad for entering an activation code.

Breathing deeply, Artemis slowly took out the transponder.

She set it on the ground.

And then stomped on it, repeatedly.

Once the device was thoroughly smashed, she ripped up the photograph as well, throwing the shreds away with a scream.

"Every girl for herself," she snarled, before spinning away and hurrying back into the woods. Once she'd retrieved the Kobra-Venom case, Artemis took a different emergency beacon out of her belt, activating it with the push of a button.

"This is Huntress," she said, casting her voice a bit lower than usual. "Sportsmaster failed, but I have a case of the samples he was tasked with retrieving. Send a pick-up to Santa Prisca, and you can have it for a third of the originally agreed-upon price."

 _Every girl for herself._


	3. Tigershark

" _Hide, Kaldur!" Their entire home was shaking, noises like volcanic vents cracking coming from outside._

" _What's happening? Where is Mother?"_

" _Kaldur'ahm, listen to me," large hands engulfed his shoulders, and the little boy looked up into scared brown eyes. "There are bad people coming, and we cannot let them find you. Imagine this is the most important game of hide and seek you've ever played - where can you hide no one will find you?"_

 _Kaldur thought hard, and finally pointed at the closet that contained their family's cooking supplies. There was a small space at the bottom, a gap between the floor and the walls, to allow cold water to circulate, which was just wide enough for him to squeeze in._

" _Good, now go, and do not make a sound for ANY reason - you only win if you stay hidden until everyone else has given up looking for you." Nodding, Kaldur swam for the closet. He'd just pushed past the curtain when the front entrance of their home crashed inward, and his papa yelled. Hesitating, the little boy sank down to where his legs were tucked into the gap, but he could still peer out beneath the curtain of beads._

 _Many, many strangers were in his home, two of them holding his papa by the arms. One who looked different than all the rest, bigger, scarier, swam up to them. "Where is the boy, Durham?"_

" _Gone," Kaldur's papa coughed. He sounded sick. "You'll never get him."_

" _I doubt it. You're still here, and Sha'lain'a is busy. Now, I will ask you again, Durham-" the eyes on the man's helmet began to glow, "Where. Is. My. SON?"_

 _Startled, Kaldur didn't dare move, not even when his papa spat back, "He is not yours, never was, and never will be."_

 _A shadow moved across the closet's curtain, and Kaldur jerked, hastily lowering himself to squirm into the crawlspace._

 _Too late._

" _Sir! I found him!" A hand snapped down, seizing painfully tight on Kaldur's shoulder, and he cried out in pain. Beating at the gauntleted hand with both his own tiny fists, the boy was nonetheless dragged back out and upwards._

" _No, Kaldur-!" One of the men holding his papa hit the man across the face, silencing him, as the bigger, scarier one swam closer._

" _Let me go!" Kaldur screamed, kicking at the stranger who still held him too tightly. He felt the sharp crackle of his mother's magic swell inside, and it manifested in an electric burst._

" _Argh!" The stranger shouted, releasing him as the spell singed his armor. Kaldur back-pedalled through the water, trying to increase the distance between them, only to smack right into the biggest man's chest. He was once again caught, but softly this time, with large fingers gently tracing the sore spot on his shoulder._

" _You are hurt," the man muttered, sounding significantly less scary. Kaldur tilted his head back to look up at him, confused. "I'm sorry, little one. I did not want you harmed." His helmet shifted in the direction of the man who'd grabbed the little boy, and his eyes began to glow again. "In fact, I gave_ explicit _orders_ against _that very thing."_

 _Beams of red light shot forth, striking the man and blasting him into the wall. When they cut off, he fell, unmoving._

 _Kaldur's breath caught in his gills._

 _The man holding him turned away, and started swimming towards the broken front entrance. As they passed Kaldur's papa, he let out a weak groan. "Manta... no..."_

" _Dispose of the traitor," the man, Manta, ordered. He kept moving, Kaldur clasped against him, and soon they were outside in open water. As they swam upwards, above the broken remnants of Kaldur's playscape and his mother's garden, Manta stroked the boy's back. "Don't worry, little one. I won't let anyone else hurt you. I promise."_

"Good morning, Little Manta."

Sighing, Kaldur gave the cook a bemused glance. "Sooner or later, Charles, I will convince you I'm too old for that nickname."

The grey-haired man grinned. "Nah, kid, I don't care how scary your reputation as "Tigershark" gets, you'll always be Little Manta to those of us you used to climb on like jungle gyms."

Rolling his eyes, the teenager didn't bother arguing further as he accepted a mug of coffee and a bowl of rehydrated eggs. He then padded off to his usual spot against the wall of the break room to eat, a tablet tucked under one arm with reports his father wanted him to review.

Only halfway through both his breakfast and assigned reading, however, the comm unit in his suit crackled to life. _*Tigershark, report to the bridge.*_

"Acknowledged," he immediately answered. The tablet was tucked into a compartment in his armor and the remaining eggs and coffee dropped off near Charles on his way to the door. Out in the hall, a pair of fairly recent recruits halted in their approach to salute him. Kaldur returned the gesture, hiding his unease, before turning the opposite direction and hurrying onward.

"Ah, son," Black Manta greeted him as soon as the teen entered the bridge, "I have a task for you."

"Yes, father?"

"Some of our current employer's other lackeys seem to have run into a bit of trouble - I'm sending you to retrieve one. Take the Fishing Sub, coordinates have been uploaded into the nav computer and there's a card with her payment in the forward storage compartment."

Nodding, Kaldur glanced at the picture pulled up on his father's display screen. "Huntress? I thought she only works in the company of Sportsmaster."

"He apparently ran afoul of the Batman," Manta waved a dismissive hand. "Huntress has the sole remaining portion of what they were sent to retrieve, yet is asking only a third of the original agreed upon price in exchange for a lift back to the mainland. You will take her wherever she wishes to go, within reason, then deliver the case in question to the city of Galveston - one of our employers will meet you there with our own payment and reimbursement. Understand?"

"Yes, sir. Will any of the troopers be accompanying me?" Kaldur blinked when his father pulled off his helmet in order to meet his gaze directly.

"No, son. You are old enough now I think it's time for you to undertake more responsibility, and start handling solo missions." Manta arched an eyebrow. "If, you feel ready, of course."

Straightening his shoulders ever so slightly, the boy nodded firmly. "I do. I won't let you down, father."

"I know you won't. Now go, it won't do to keep Huntress waiting."

Saluting, Kaldur turned and hurried from the room. He swung by his quarters to grab his own helmet, as well as a pack with emergency rations and a field medic kit, just in case. Then, he restrained himself to actually walk to the docking port, rather than running headlong.

The teen settled himself into the small vessel, called the Fishing Sub due to its limited carrying capacity, and hailed the comm center with his codes for detachment. The men on the other side verified his authentication, then broke protocol to wish him luck. Kaldur grinned and thanked them, before firing up the engines and taking off.

From the South Atlantic, he made good time to Caribbean Sea, winding around other islands on his route to Santa Prisca. The coordinates directed him to a point on the east side of the island, where he deftly avoided a boundary of reefs in order to surface within a hidden bay. He opened the top hatch of the sub just in time to see a flash of orange disappear from the top of the sheltering cliffs, and a few minutes later a slim figure appeared on the path leading up from the rocky beach.

Kaldur swam over to meet her, and was glad his helmet hid the surprised expression he made upon realizing the armored girl was actually younger than him.

"Huntress, I presume?" He asked politely.

"Yeah, and you're Tigershark," she answered, setting one hand on her hip, the other holding the case he'd been tasked with retrieving. "Hope you're not expecting me to swim out to that thing - my weapons don't exactly get along well with saltwater."

"Of course," he replied. From holsters built into the armor around his waist, Kaldur pulled forth a pair of Atlantean tools his father had stolen for him as a birthday present several years before. Activating them, the teen was able to solidify a path atop the water leading from the little beach to his vessel, only a few yards away. "Shall we?"

"Nifty," Huntress drawled. Even so, her nonchalance was clearly forced, as the girl toed the pathway before taking a tentative step onto it. Once certain of her footing, she marched forward confidently, Kaldur a few paces behind. He offered her a hand up onto the top of the sub, which Huntress ignored in favor of jumping up herself. Kaldur joined her, allowing the water to resume its natural liquid state, and put away his tools as they dropped down through the hatch.

"Please, make yourself comfortable," he said, gesturing to the simple row of seats along the wall. Huntress once again dismissed his offer, trailing after him up to the pilot's cabin, and strapping herself into the navigator's seat. Kaldur decided against mentioning anything of her keeping the case between her booted feet, simply getting her payment card and holding it out.

The girl blinked, but took it. "Ten thousand?"

"Ten thousand," he repeated. "I'm to take you to any destination within reason."

"...and where's the case going?"

Hesitating for a moment, Kaldur took in her belligerent pose - arms folded, eyes narrowed - and decided against playing things close to his chest. "Galveston, Texas."

Huntress huffed. "Yeah, that's where we were supposed to take the full shipment. Look, I don't care what your orders are, I'm gonna deliver this thing in person."

"You already have-"

"It's not about the money, it's about my reputation," she snarled. "Dad's gone and screwed his up by getting caught, so I need to establish mine by finishing what he started, or else I'll never get any serious work of my own." After a moment, what little he could see of her face seemed to pale, and the girl straightened in her seat, trying to reclaim something of her air of indifference.

After a pause, Kaldur pulled off his helmet.

Huntress stared with wide eyes as he set it aside, and didn't move as he once again faced her. "I understand. Were something to happen to my father, I would certainly follow through on a similar course of action."

"Your...?"

"Black Manta," he clarified.

"You, uh, okay- you have-" her stammered words cut off as the girl gestured vaguely to her neck, and Kaldur's lips twitched into a small smile.

"Gills, yes. My mother was Atlantean."

Huntress swallowed, still clearly thrown off her game. "Uh, gotcha." She blinked, then seemed to steal herself - and undid the straps of her own mask. It wasn't quite the dramatic reveal that Kaldur's had been, but he still appreciated the gravity of the gesture as she set the piece of plaster aside.

"I'm Kaldur'ahm," he said, offering a hand to shake.

This time, she accepted, grasping it firmly. "Artemis."

"To Galveston, then?"

"Yeah. And, thanks."

"You're very welcome."


	4. Mordryd

" _Not bad, boy."_

 _Startled, Roy spun around, his stolen bow coming up smoothly, arrow fully nocked. The man at the far side of the alley didn't seem worried, though he didn't move, either. "Who the hell are you?"_

" _An admirer of genuine talent," the man replied, "Especially when it's in the process of being honed into real skill." He took a single step forward, allowing enough light from the street to land on him to reveal the bow and quiver slung over his own shoulder._

 _Blinking, Roy allowed his hands to ease back the tension of the bowstring, but he didn't lower his weapon. "Yeah, sorry, that does absolutely nothing to explain you are."_

 _The man sighed, rolling his eyes. "My name, boy, is Merlyn."_

" _Oh. You're the guy who shoots back at Green Arrow."_

 _Merlyn snorted, smirking. "Indeed. And you are the pest who's been taking down and stealing from my employer's drug runners."_

 _Roy's eyes widened, and the fifteen year old immediately drew back on his bow again. "Stay away from me."_

" _Now now, no need to get defensive. I've been watching you for most of this week - if I wanted to kill you, I'd have done it long before tonight." Merlyn slowly ambled closer, making no move to grab his own bow. "As it is, boy, I quite like your brutal style and efficiency."_

" _So?"_

" _So, I wonder of you might be interested in a job?"_

 _After a long moment, Roy finally lowered his bow. "What kid of job?"_

" _Well, it's a bit more of an apprenticeship, really..."_

"Hurry up, boy, we're running late."

Biting back a growl, Roy locked down the car and jogged to where his boss waited. Merlyn always insisted on getting to meetings early, so he could stalk around the surrounding vantage points before hand, laying out little traps in case Arrow ever showed up. Which, admittedly, sometimes paid off, but Roy hardly thought the green goof would show up in _Galveston_ of all places. As far as he knew, _no_ superhero had yet laid claim on the seaside city - with the possible exception of Aquaman, but only because the Atlantean king claimed all oceans were his domain and therefore all shoreline settlements were his to defend.

Which, really, was just plain stupid - how the hell was one guy supposed to be in so many places at once? Superheroes were their own breed of idiots.

After trailing a step behind his trap-laying boss for half an hour, Roy reminded him of the time, and soon enough both were waiting expectantly in the shadows of the warehouse closest to the dock. A few minutes later, a dark shape surfaced in the water.

Out of the top, two figures emerged - one of Manta's top goons, Tigershark, and the unexpected Huntress, whom Roy had seen in photo arrays but never actually met in person.

"I thought the delivery was switched over to Manta's people because Sportsmaster and Huntress got into trouble?" He muttered out of the side of his mouth. Merlyn growled back for him to be quiet.

The two of them walked forward as the other pair stepped off the submarine onto the dock. Huntress was still holding the case they'd been sent to retrieve, and didn't look like she was interested in handing it over.

"I'll take that, girl," Merlyn stated, continuing a step past where Roy stopped.

"Not until Tigershark gets his reimbursement," Huntress shot back. "And I'm taking this thing all the way to the end of the line."

While his boss glared at the gutsy girl, Roy went ahead and pulled out a USB stick from one of his belt pouches to toss at the undersea mercenary. "Here. Payment for the delivery, and replacement cash for what you gave her."

Tigershark caught it with a nod. "My thanks, Mordryd. And, a word of advice? Trouble follows this delivery. I'd take Huntress with you, as added insurance it will reach its final destination, even if the League gets involved again."

Roy raised an eyebrow at that, glancing between the two of them. His boss did likewise, before backing down and favoring Huntress with a charming smile. "Of course, a wise idea."

The girl stared him down until he turned to go. Then she turned to look up at Tigershark, and Roy got the impression she was smiling underneath her mask. "Thanks, K."

"Anytime, A." They shook hands, before the armored mercenary jumped back to his submarine. Huntress faced Roy at that point, eyes narrowed.

He raised his hands up in a gesture of peace. "Don't mind me, I'm just the minion."

She sniffed, and started stalking after Merlyn. Roy fell into place beside her, only glancing back once to see the submarine vanishing silently under the ocean waves. "Friends with the fish?"

"Business acquaintances," she said abruptly. "I don't have friends."

"Fair enough. I'm Mordryd, by the way."

"I heard. Your boss come with any settings other than Hostile and Overly Friendly?"

"Nope."

Huntress huffed. "Great."

"So what happened to _your_ boss, anyway?" Roy asked as they rounded the corner of the warehouse. Merlyn was already waiting at the car, foot tapping. The teen suppressed a smirk, figuring it was what the asshole got for making his "apprentice" do the driving - which included handling the only set of keys.

"The Bat happened. Took out Sportsmaster, the local goons, and what looked like half the Kobra Cult before destroying the rest of the shipment we were supposed to escort."

Roy winced. "Ouch. How'd you get away then?"

"None of your business." They reached the car, and Roy unlocked it. His boss immediately opened the back door with a flourish, bowing slightly to Huntress as he gestured inside. She didn't even glance at him before walking around to the front passenger seat and settling herself.

"I always ride shotgun," she said as Roy quickly got into place behind the wheel. "Better security."

"Of, course, I understand completely," Merlyn replied from the back seat. "If at any point you desire to stretch out, though..."

"No offense, but I don't relax until the job is done." Roy once again had to hide a smirk as he started up the engine.

"Of course," his boss repeated. "Onwards, then."

Roy quickly got them out of the docks and into the city proper, easily avoiding the few other cars present so early in the morning. Soon enough, they were on the interstate highway, heading inland.

"I wonder if you wouldn't mind indulging my curiosity a bit, Huntress," Merlyn spoke up as they left Galveston behind.

"Depends," she replied. "What's got your inner cat twitching?"

Not quite able to bite back a snort, Roy risked glancing at his boss in the rearview mirror, and winced. From the way Merlyn was glaring daggers at him, the boy figured he'd be taken to task for his "impudence" later on.

"Oh, simply an offhand remark I once heard Deathstroke make in passing, that Sportsmaster taught you to shoot a proper bow in addition to that little toy on your hip."

"Let me guess, he decided to do a bit of one-upmanship and said I'm a better shot than you or your minion."

Rolling his eyes, Roy answered before his boss could. "Yeah, something along those lines." He didn't mention that the swordsman's snide comment had been delivered in order to shut up Merlyn's boasting about how it was only his expert instruction that guided his apprentice into being such a good archer. Honestly, at the time, Roy had been so mad about the sleaze taking credit for _his_ hard work that he'd welcomed Deathstroke's blunt _Sportsmaster's kid can get the same number of bullseyes, shooting three arrows at once._

Merlyn hadn't taken it well.

"I'd be very interested in a demonstration some time, especially since you and Sportsmaster seem to have parted company."

Huntress started to reply, but then she paused, eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "...yeah, alright."

In the rearview, Roy saw his mentor perk up a bit. "Although, I suppose I should ask before making statements - _have_ you and your mentor indeed taken leave of each other?"

"Probably just until he escapes from whatever hole the League try to lock him up in," the girl muttered. "At that point, first thing he'll do is come track me down."

"I, see. Well, if I could ever tempt you with a change of sponsorship within the mercenary world..."

 _I wonder if you might be interested in a job? Well, it's a bit more of an apprenticeship, really..._

Roy tensed in his seat, knuckles going white where they gripped the wheel. He saw Huntress glance at him, her own gaze instantly hardening.

"I think I'm good, thanks," she said, tone of voice never changing.

"Please don't be hasty, my dear, at least consider it! I know what kind of meager lodgings Sportsmaster considers luxurious, and Mordryd and I habitually enjoy a higher standard, especially when on a job-"

"I can become a lot less polite in turning you down if that's what it takes, mister," Huntress interrupted. "Even in a cramped space like this, I sure I could throw a knife at your lap just fine." Roy blinked, startled, and even without looking he was sure Merlyn had the same stunned expression on his face.

"...forgive my rudeness, my dear," he said faintly after a moment. "I simply hate to see young talent go to waste."

"Of course."

When Roy next glanced over at her, Huntress was looking back, studying him. He offered a wry smile, and from the way her head tilted, he figured the girl was smirking in return.


	5. Comet

" _You are trespassing."_

" _Sure am," Raquel replied, not letting her face so much as twitch out of its disinterested expression._

 _The dude whose place she'd broken into slowly stepped closer, shadows playing across his face, preventing her from seeing it clearly. "How did you get in here?"_

" _For a self-proclaimed man of the future, you got really shitty security in this place," the girl stated, placing her hands on her hips. "Easily hackable electronics, no back-up system, no actual guards, though they wouldn't have stopped me... But, I guess it's not all_ that _important, seeing as you're only here two days a month, if that."_

 _Old eyes gleamed at her, curious. "You seem to have been studying me, Miss...?"_

" _Ervin. Raquel Ervin."_

" _Miss Ervin. So, what exactly has attracted your attention to me?"_

" _My friends were getting ready to rob this place," Raquel told him boldly, without an ounce of pretended regret. "But then we got warned off by some creepy kid with a cat who threw some fireballs around. I got interested. Started digging."_

" _And what did your digging uncover?"_

" _That you are a very hard person to dig up any dirt on, Mister "Knox"." She made air-quotes while saying the name on the deed of the house, and was relieved to see a knowing smirk in return. "But regardless of the details I tracked down, it's obvious you've got fingers in a lot of pies, probably in a lot more places than just Dakota."_

 _He chuckled at that, a deep, rumbling sound, like rocks crashing down a mountainside. "Very astute, Miss Ervin. None of which explains why you have broken in here, with the obvious intention of seeking an audience with me."_

 _She took a deep breath, and plunged onward. "Look, I don't have a future around in this city. Not with the shitty schools, the gangs - definitely not with the baby my pregnancy test said I'm carrying. So, I decided to see if my old man's bad luck skipped a generation, and come gamble on getting enough of your interest to land myself a job."_

 _Silence._

 _Raquel was just starting to calculate the fastest route back outside when the man before her laughed again. He took a step closer, fully into the moonlight spilling in from a window, and extended a hand. "I think I may just have a job or two you could carry out for me, Ms. Ervin. And, for your records, my preferred name is Vandal Savage."_

 _Also moving forward, Raquel grasped his outstretched hand, her own fingers dwarfed by comparison. "Good to meet you, Mister Savage. What job do you have in mind?"_

"I have received word from our Kobra allies," Ra's al Ghul began, once preliminary greetings were out of the way. "They regret the failure of their operatives on Santa Prisca, and promise restitution, but not continued support."

"A predictable response to nearly losing one of their leaders to a single man's interference," Savage rumbled. Behind him, Raquel shifted imperceptibly. Klarion's damn cat was sniffing around her boots again, and the teen would've been tempted to shoo it away had the setting been less formal.

"We should have sent more than Sportsmaster and his student to the island," Oceanmaster growled from his vid screen. "Perhaps then, the factory would still be intact, and more than a single case of Kobra-Venom ampules would have been salvaged."

Savage hummed before replying. "No, even if we'd sent more mercenaries to guard the shipment, Batman would simply have called in League reinforcements to fight at his side. Ra's, have you any insight on preventing him from interfering again?"

The leader of the Shadows sighed, an annoyed furrow appearing on his brow. "None except blatant distraction - if faced with the choice of investigating our activities and saving "innocent" lives, the Detective will always take the route of heroics. However,engineering such situations time and again to misdirect him will, inevitably, incur suspicion, and I would recommend the tactic only when we must be _absolutely_ certain of no interruptions."

"A fair point," Luthor spoke up smoothly, "Though, perhaps, not terribly insightful, given that the same could be said to apply to all the League."

"I do not know what else you'd expect me to say - for all that he is among the most skilled and intelligent of the heroes, the Detective _is_ one of them for good reason-"

"Now now, let's not bicker amongst ourselves." Queen Bee didn't even look at either of the men she was cutting off from arguing, instead peering through her screen at Savage. "Have the ampules actually been delivered, or are they still in transit?"

"Merlyn and Mordryd arrived not long ago, escorting Huntress, who, apparently, decided she was honor-bound to see the samples safely into our hands, as her mentor would have done."

Various eyebrows were raised in surprise, and then one of their members who'd previously been silent chuckled. "I must say, mes amies, I approve of ze girl's l'audacieux."

"Agreed, Monsieur Brain," Ra's said. "However, there is a fine line between daring and outright audacity, especially when Huntress has not yet shared an accounting with us of how she alone escaped the Detective - he does not make slips like that easily."

"I hardly think we need to question the girl's motives, my friend. But, if it will ease concerns, Comet can be sent to get a full explanation from Huntress." With her codename mentioned, Raquel took a half step forward, careful to avoid stepping on the demon-cat's tail. She kept her expression neutral under the scrutiny of the rest of the Light, and didn't relax until they all voiced varying amounts of approval.

After a few more minutes of hashing out details for upcoming plans, the meeting was concluded, and Savage turned off the screens with a tap of a button. Then, he shifted in his seat to glance at Raquel.

"Conversation or interrogation?" She immediately asked.

"I'll leave it to your discretion," her boss replied. "Sportsmaster has always been the talker, so I admit I have little idea what will work best with his apprentice."

"Understood, sir. And afterward?"

"Write up a report, send it to Luthor for dispersal, and then, I believe you've earned an evening off, my dear."

Raquel nodded, then bowed, before heading for the door. As soon as she was alone in the hallway, no demon-cats or their Lords of Chaos following, the teenager pulled a thin leather wallet out of her coat's inner pocket. Folded inside was only a single photograph, half a year old, of her holding a chubby-cheeked infant.

"Momma's gonna be home tonight, Amistad," she murmured, gently stroking the glossy paper before tucking it away. "Just gotta take care of some business, first."


	6. Lionel

_Sky, sun, space, stars_

 _Earth, ocean, mountains, beach_

 _Plant, animal, human, Kryptonian_

 _Superman. Luthor. The League. The Light._

 _Blue sky, yellow sun_

 _Red sun-_

" _Though this test has progressed further than the others, sir, our calculations predict a breakdown in the process within weeks, unless the weapon is removed from the solar chamber. At this stage of development, though, it's official purpose is unattainable, hence my order to terminate."_

" _I understand, Doctor. Given the limited scope of your instructions and inspiration, it's easy to see how you arrived at the conclusion that such a waste is acceptable."_

" _Sir-"_

" _From now on, this weapon is going to be a boy. He's going to walk, talk, dress well and follow orders. And every time Superman sees him, he's going to wonder. He's going to worry."_

 _Depressurization. Chamber opening. Data feed interrupted._

" _And I'm going to enjoy every moment of it._ Argus."

 _His eyes opened._

 _Before him stood two men, familiar only thanks to the images and information given to him by the G-gnomes. Dr. Desmond, top scientist of Cadmus Labs, authority figure of all Genomorphs and additional Cadmus properties. Lex Luthor, head of LexCorp, opponent of the Superman._

 _A final databurst from the G-gnomes above him: Lex Luthor, member of the Cadmus Board of Directors, ultimate authority figure of the Superboy._

" _Hello, son."_

"Lionel, come in here."

Even from down the hall as past two closed doors, he hears the man's voice. He stands, closes the file folder he'd been instructed to memorize _(newest Justice League member, Red Tornado, android with ability to generate and control wind vortexes)_ and sets it aside. Exits the sparsely filled office designated for his own use. Strides down the tastefully decorated hallway. Enters another office, bigger, grander, designated solely for Lex Luthor.

The adjectives mean little. They are used only because he has heard others use them.

He would prefer things to be simpler.

"There you are, my boy." Luthor beckons him closer, eyes never leaving the screen before him.

He steps close, stills. Waits.

After precisely fifty-three seconds _("Long enough to know they are_ not _my most important priority, but not so long it would be considered unbearably rude."),_ Luthor straightens and glances at him. "Has contact been made yet with Thomas and Tuppence Terror?"

"Yes sir. They look forward to being given free reign in Metropolis while Superman is elsewhere," he answered. The words come easily, because they are true, but at the same time a weight stirs uneasily within him.

"Good, good. Our LexBots will be ready to bring them down?"

"Yes sir. Director Kelpin reports the test results are all positive, and production is a day ahead of schedule."

" _Very_ good. I'll look forward to this plan having no cracks, Lionel."

"Of course sir."

"Now then, this evening I want you to-" Luthor's words pause as a gentle chime sounds from his computer. Opening a different program window, the man frowns.

He knows better than to glance down and read over his authority figure's shoulder.

He does anyway.

It's a notification of a plane ticket purchase, one way, in the name of a woman who used to work for Lexcorp, before leaving in favor of Kord Industries with company secrets in her pocket.

"Hm. It would seem Mercy's threats to Miss Kasim were heard after all," Luthor murmurs. "And she's heading back home, too."

Home for Laney Kasim means Qurac. The weight inside him shifts again.

"Lionel, I think it's time for a trip to Bialya to visit with our dear Queen Bee - she has a new pet that needs to be put through its paces, and this would appear to be the perfect opportunity. Make the arrangements, will you, son? And make certain we aren't gone too long, I want to be back in time to witness the Terror rampage and speak afterward."

"Yes, sir."

He leaves the way he'd come.

Two hours later, both he, Luthor, and Mercy Graves _(weaponized android, bodyguard, combat instructor)_ were boarding the LexCorp private jet, a flight plan filed for Morocco. Midway over the Atlantic Ocean, they cross paths with another, identical aircraft which had departed from Quebec.

They later land in a small military airfield not far from Bialya's capitol.

"If you please, sirs, madam," a well-dressed bodyguard says, opening the door to a limousine for them. "Her Majesty is expecting you."

They ride in silence.

Exactly fourteen minutes and twenty-eight seconds later _("More than twenty minutes from an airport is unacceptable, it leaves too much room for error in a strategic withdrawal. Closer than ten, however, indicates an attitude of cowardice, a belief that retreat_ will _be necessary. Always find a happy median between the two.")_ the limousine pulls into an underground bunker. The same bodyguard opens the door for them again, and he steps out first, followed by Luthor, and then Mercy.

Queen Bee waits at the end of a red carpet, smirking.

"I do love your little gestures, my dear," Luthor speaks, striding forward, both the others falling into place either side and two steps back from him. "And I appreciate meeting with us on such short notice."

"Of course, Lex," the metahuman dictator purrs. Her gaze shifts. "Although I do not believe I've yet had the pleasure of meeting this young man in person."

"Ah, of course. This," Luthor half-turns, lifted a hand to clap onto his shoulder, "Is my son, Lionel Luthor. The Superboy, if you will."

"It's lovely to meet you, ma'am," he says, bowing slightly from the waist. "Father has mentioned you and your achievements often."

"And a charmer, too," she smiles. "I'm delighted to meet you as well, Lionel. I'm sure you do your father proud."

"Yes, ma'am."

The weight inside him sinks deeper than ever.

"Well, before we discuss the task at hand, I simply _must_ introduce you both to my Honeydew as well. She's not quite so eloquent with her words, but has a humble charm about her all the same."

Elsewhere in the bunker, he hears voices screaming.

* * *

Hey folks! I hope you guys are enjoying reading this story as much as I am writing it!

Anywho, I'm popping my head out from behind the curtain for a moment to take a straw poll: I've got three new AU ideas circling around my head (which, to those of you who've seen my story collection, will come as no surprise) and I wanted to see what sounded interesting to my wonderful readers!

They all concern Superboy, which was good timing on my part I think, and can be summed up as follows:

1\. Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Robin bust into Cadmus like usual, but the Project Kr clone they find isn't a physical teenager like them; he's the equivalent of a ten year old, smaller even than Rob. (Still kicks their butts when he gets out, though.) But later, there are Lots of Shenanigans and Found Family Feels.

2\. There are four crimefighter kids who bust into Cadmus Labs on July 4th - our standard trio of boys, accompanied by the fourteen year old Supergirl, AKA Kara Kent. While finding her cousin's clone is a bit of a shock, she *does* take it SO much better than Clark himself.

3\. After both the mess at Cadmus and the Mister Twister Fiasco, Robin sneaks a special visitor into Mount Justice: a seven year old Jon Kent who is very, VERY excited to meet his new little big brother. And of course, the first visit is not the last, no matter how exasperated his dad gets about the whole thing.

So what do you guys think? All three of these will eventually be written and posted, but I want to see your opinions as to what should come first. And please, no one fuss at me about finishing current stories before moving on to new ones - I've heard it before, and honestly that's just not how my brain works.

Thanks!

-Tri


	7. Honeydew

Chapter Six - Honeydew

" _I- where am I?"_

" _Shh, it's alright, you're safe here."_

 _She whimpered, twisting away from the_ _ **heat flame fire,**_ _desperately struggling to retain her morphed form - and failing. Even as she felt her flesh and skin shift back to normal, however, the soft hands stroking her forehead remained. In fact, once the transformation finished, they were joined by a mental touch, pressing oh so lightly against her psyche, offering comfort against the pain of her injuries._

" _You needn't hide yourself from me," the smooth voice murmured. "You needn't hide at all, anymore. Now, Simon says_ _ **sleep."**_

"No," the man whimpered. "No, no, no, no- AIEEE!" He twisted in his chains, trying to scratch as his skin, his face, his eyes, all while shrieking desperately

She frowned, and threw a different image into his broken mind. The shrieks grew into proper screams, then, as he writhed in place, all coherent movement replaced by frantic, useless instinct.

"Very good," Simon murmured from the far corner of the cell. "Next."

Beyond the first man hung a second, watching with naked terror. When her glowing gaze landed upon him, he began to preemptively squirm and beg.

"Please," he tried saying. "Please, we did not mean to fail Her Majesty, we did not- AHHH!"

Part of her shuddered at the pain she was causing - the part kept buried, carefully hidden from her mentor. The rest of her exuded grim satisfaction at being the one feared, the one with power over others.

When both men were reduced to gibbering wrecks from the visions she'd forced them to experience, her mentor stepped forward.

"You've come very far in these last weeks alone, dear one," he said, giving her mind a quick brush, the equivalent of a pat on the shoulder. "Our patron will be quite pleased."

She smiled.

At the cell door, someone knocked. A mental sweep revealed a single messenger, sent to request their dual presences in Her Majesty's conference room. Psimon acknowledged the delivery and sent the woman on her way again. Then he tilted his head back to meet her gaze.

"I think a change in costume would be appropriate, child." He sent along an image with the words, and she quickly shifted to match it exactly - dark skin, no hair, solid red eyes. The clothing was a skintight suit of black and yellow, a gossamer thin cape of pale lavender floating behind her. Psimon nodded his approval, and led the way out.

Through the halls of the base, everyone they passed bowed and stepped aside. She'd been told it was a sign of respect to their power, their positions by Her Majesty's side.

But she could feel the fear of those they passed - the _pleasure_ it brought her mentor to be an object of terror.

Her inner self shuddered again.

In the conference room, Her Majesty sat, waiting with two newcomers - Lex Luthor, a key member of the Light, and his personal weapon, the Superboy. She skimmed over their minds instinctively, verifying authenticity. Luthor himself didn't react, but the boy stiffened, ever so slightly.

Surprised, she nearly focused more attention on him, but a warning tap from Psimon brought her back into check.

"And here we are," Her Majesty said smoothly, lifting a hand to gesture the telepaths over. "You remember Psimon, of course, Lex."

"Of course," the other man agreed. "Doctor Jones, a pleasure."

"Likewise, sir." Psimon's pleasant tone was undercut by a tendril of annoyance that radiated outward. She barely resisted flinching, even knowing full well the emotion wasn't directed at herself.

"And this, is my Honeydew. Come say hello to Lex and his son, dear one."

She moved to Her Majesty's side, smiling and bowing slightly. _*It is an honor to be in your presence, Mister Luthor, Lionel,*_ she projected into their minds.

The businessman raised an eyebrow, looking her up and down before offering a smile in return. "A charmer indeed. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Honeydew." Behind him, the boy nodded as well. "Perhaps, Queen Bee, a demonstration of your new pet's ability to disguise herself?"

Her Majesty simply smiled, baring all her teeth, and gave the mental equivalent of snapping her fingers. Immediately, Honeydew changed her form to match the queen's precisely, down to the detailed engravings on her headdress.

Both of Luthor's eyebrows went up, while his weapon blinked in suppressed astonishment. "Very impressive."

"This, of course, is merely one of Honeydew's many talents," Her Majesty said, as the girl shifted back to her previous shape. "Between her and young Lionel, capturing Kasim for interrogation shouldn't be any trouble. In fact, with him there to provide a guideline of the information needed, Honeydew can retrieve all that you require from the target's mind without transporting her elsewhere."

"Useful talents indeed. Your offer is most gracious, my dear, and I'm happy to accept."

A few minutes later, after details had been gone over and orders given, Honeydew was on her way to the south side of the base, the Superboy in tow. She easily felt the weight of his frequent glances, and the faint confusion drifting through his mental scape. Once far enough from the conference room where Psimon still stood beside Her Majesty, she risked speaking to him.

"Hello." The boy's stride faltered momentarily, and he cast a surprised look at her. She smiled shyly in return.

"You- my apologies, I hadn't realized you could speak aloud," he said.

"I don't, usually," she explained. "Her Majesty prefers me to be as intimidating as possible, and silence does more to benefit that image."

Slowly, her new companion nodded. "My father often tells me to remain silent when he's conducting meetings; I suppose for the same purpose."

After a moment's awkward silence, she spoke again. "I'm, M'gann, by the way. You don't have to call me Honeydew if we're alone."

Another surprised glance, and then a small smile. "Hello, M'gann. It's nice to meet you."

Her smile widened at his choice of words, and auburn hair sprouted and grew until it reached shoulder length. "Thank you; it's nice to meet you too, Lionel."

"Superboy," he quickly replied. "It's, more accurate, in a way."

"Superboy, then." M'gann peered at his mind again - not too deeply, but just a touch of surface thoughts. "Would, would you like a different name? Something really yours, and not your father's?"

"Maybe," the boy murmured, brows furrowed, his gaze pointed at the floor. "...I, I think-"

He fell silent, as a pair of guards rounded the corner ahead. M'gann retracted her hair, and both of them straightened with bland expressions. The guards bowed and stepped aside, their fear palpable even without telepathy. Once past and around the corner themselves, Superboy glanced back at M'gann. "They're really afraid of you around here."

She sighed. "I know."

"But you don't like it. Not the way Luthor and Queen Bee do."

"I didn't come to Earth to be feared," M'gann murmured, hunching her shoulders. "But I have to be, in order to get respect."

Superboy nodded in agreement.

When they exited the base, M'gann led him towards a nondescript red and black pod sitting just past the regular vehicles. The boy's eyes went wide when she awoke her Bioship, but he didn't comment, not even as they boarded and she grew a seat for him beside her own.

Once in the air and en route to the Quraci border, he finally looked over at her again. "What would you think is a good name, instead of a designation?"

That, at least, was a question with a simple answer. "Conner. That's, always been one of my favorites."

Superboy mulled it over for a few moments, before smiling faintly. "I like that. So, whenever you're M'gann, I'm Conner, instead of Honeydew and Lionel."

She beamed.


	8. Kid Zoom

Chapter 7 - Kid Zoom

" _But Mom-"_

" _Absolutely not! Wally, I don't care that you replicated your uncle's experiment, that you've got- you've got- oh, God-" The woman pressed both palms to her face, breathing raggedly._

" _What your mother means to say, Wallace Rudolph West, is that you Are Not going to use this superspeed as an excuse to be Barry's sidekick," his father went on, wrapping an arm around her shoulders._

" _But-!"_

" _No buts! You nearly got yourself_ killed _with those chemicals, we aren't going to lose you because you decided to go running around the streets and a hundred miles per hour fighting supervillains!"_

 _The thirteen year old scuffed his foot against the floor. "Flash goes faster than that..."_

" _But you won't be!"_

" _ **Oh, I think he will."**_

 _Before even Wally could blink, a yellow blur had crossed the room, and both his parents were on the floor, something warm splattered across his face. "W-what-?"_

" _ **My, what a disgrace."**_ _A man suddenly stood next to him, wearing a suit like Flash's, but yellow._ " _ **Whatever would your uncle think, boy? Two civilians right in front of you, and you're too slow to do more than stare as they die."**_

" _What- no!" Too late, he registered the holes in their chests, and Wally stumbled forward, tripping in his haste and running into the opposite wall by mistake, too far, too fast. "NO!"_

 _Another blink, and the man was gone and back, dropping another body onto the floor - a boy, already dead, someone Wally didn't recognize. Frozen in horror, he gaped as the man started to vibrate in place, his body throwing off miniature lightning._

 _One of the bolts hit the other boy's body, igniting something it had been doused with. The flames quickly spread, licking their way down to the carpet and towards his parents._

 _THAT threw off his shock. "Stop! STOP IT!" Wally launched himself at the man, intending to hit him, to do SOMETHING to deny what was happening-_

 _But instead, his fists were dodged, and an arm looped its way around his waist. Then the world itself blurred away._

"Get up, now."

Flinching, West rolled off of the cot and jumped to his feet before Professor Zoom could state his order a second time. The man didn't even look at him, just made his way towards the lab equipment filling the back of the room.

"Come. Sit." Zoom pointed to the usual stool, and he gratefully rushed over to perch on it. When a hand was impatiently waved in his direction, West placed his left forearm onto the table.

Zoom took the usual scan of his vitals, then withdrew a blood sample. Once he set the day's experiment running, the man pulled a small bottle from his lab coat.

As usual, West had to wait a full two minutes after the nutrient drink was set down before reaching for it, his stomach growling all the while. Only a few seconds were required to down the bland liquid, and then he placed it back in the exact spot.

It was a surprise when Zoom pulled out a second bottle.

"You're going to run today," he explained, seeing the unasked question in West's eyes. "I'm going to be taking care of business in the city, and you're going to pick up a case from Houston. Disperse the substance samples contained within, then return here with the remaining sample. I expect no delays, no detours, and if all goes well, I'll let you out to run again soon. If not, you'll come fight Flash with me next week."

This time, he held back the flinch. Barely.

A few minutes later, West waited in his Kid Zoom suit, helmet locked in place and all tracking devices activated. The Professor uploaded maps with coordinates into his visor, along with a timetable and the usual countdown clock.

"Go." And with that, he was off.

Out the laboratory's secondary exit, across the bridge leading from Central to Keystone, passing through empty landscapes with towns and cities occasionally appearing as blurs in the distance. Soon enough he settled into a loping pace that ate up the miles with a minimum of effort, at which point the teen finally allowed his mind to start wandering.

Substance samples? What substance? Was this another Light job? Or someone independent? How many samples? Were they unstable? Could he potentially render them useless with enough extra vibration as he ran...?

He nearly slapped himself to get rid of that last thought. Causing trouble for Zoom would only mean pain, and hunger, and new _experiments_.

Pretending to be a hero just wasn't worth it.

It was nearly mid-morning when West arrived at his first set of coordinates - an empty parking garage on the north edge of the conglomerate city, where a single van waited on the second level. A pair of ninjas got out, one holding a backpack container that was really four smaller boxes bound together with friction resistant straps. West didn't bother checking the contents, he just grabbed it and ran.

His next stop was in New Orleans, just a jog across state lines. The condemned building he entered didn't seem to have anyone else inside, but a complicated pentagram was painted out on the floor in red. West pulled one of the boxes out of the straps, which automatically tightened to keep the others bound together. He dropped it into the center of the design. A moment later the box vanished, and he took off again.

The run up to Washington DC took a while, and with the time zone difference, it was nearly sunset when he arrived. Darting in and out of Cadmus Labs was simple enough, at least, since an assistant was waiting by the back door to receive their delivery. Then West made his shortest leg of the trip, racing to get to Metropolis, and LexCorp Manufacturing, before full dark. Normally, he'd be worried about making sure Superman didn't see him, but Zoom's underworld connections reported that the figurehead of the Justice League was currently off world, pushing a meteor away from its course through the interior of their solar system. So, West figured he'd have free run of the city, for a given value of freedom.

Apparently, others had the same idea.

Sounds from the world around him were a bit harder to register when the teen had his helmet on, but there was no missing the widespread destruction of the downtown streets. Darting past, West spotted a couple of blonde teenagers in white and red going on a rampage.

For a moment, he felt tempted to burst onto the scene and stop them. It would be just like the fights he'd dreamed of as a kid - saving the day, keeping people safe, putting away the criminals who only cared about causing mass chaos. It would be so easy...

 _Such a_ _ **disgrace,**_ _so_ _ **pathetic,**_ _as if a_ _ **failure**_ _like you could have ever been a_ _ **hero.**_

...but he couldn't.

He just couldn't.

He kept running.


End file.
